3 of the Newest Sarasota County Restaurants Coming Soon

Sarasota County’s cafe and restaurant scene continues to add new concepts, including a French-inspired daytime cafe, a Uruguayan bakery and coffee shop, and a family-run pizzeria built around generations-old recipes.

Two Shores Cafe — Sarasota

Address: 7321 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34243

Status: Now open. Two Shores Cafe opened in early September with a grand-opening promotion that included free coffee and a pastry for guests.

What to expect: Two Shores Cafe is a neighborhood bakery and coffee shop centered on Uruguayan food culture. Owners Valeria Bobra and Milton Rodriguez are both from Uruguay and wanted to introduce Sarasota customers to the pastries, breads and coffee traditions they grew up with.

Menu highlights: Expect Uruguayan pastries and breads alongside counter-service coffee drinks. Bobra and Rodriguez live close to the cafe and are directly involved in the baking and preparation.

Hours: Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday hours are 7 a.m.–noon.

Who’s behind it: Valeria Bobra and Milton Rodriguez were born and raised in Uruguay and are bringing a piece of their home country to Sarasota.

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Comptoir: The Counter Café — Sarasota

Address: 2805 N Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL 34234

Status: Coming soon, with an opening targeted for early October.

What to expect: Comptoir: The Counter Café will replace Shelf Indulgence Used Book Cafe with a French-inspired daytime concept designed to serve the surrounding neighborhood and nearby Ringling College community. Guests will be able to order at the counter or sit down before placing their order, while online ordering and pickup are also planned.

Menu highlights: Pastries, viennoiserie, desserts, coffee, smoothies, crepes, paninis, quiche, soups and salads will form the opening menu. Chef and co-owner Gregory Desvenain is drawing inspiration from current French cafe trends and dishes he has encountered during trips back to France.

Future plans: Desvenain previously worked in wine importing, and the owners hope to incorporate that experience into the cafe once the daytime operation is established.

Hours: Planned daily hours are 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Who’s behind it: French-born chef Gregory Desvenain is opening Comptoir with co-owner Cemantha Crain.

Article coming soon.

Dominick's Family Pizza — Sarasota

Address: 8317 N Lockwood Ridge Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243

Status: Targeting a soft opening around October, followed by a two-week to one-month trial period before the full public opening.

What to expect: Dominick’s Family Pizza will be a small, family-run pizzeria with roughly 12 to 15 seats inside a 1,500-square-foot space. Owner John Papandrea plans to use the soft-opening period for reservation-based tastings, staff training and feedback before moving into regular service.

Menu highlights: New York-style round pizzas and Sicilian square pies will be made from Papandrea family recipes. The menu will also include rotating specialty pizzas, strombolis, pinwheels, chicken cutlet sandwiches, housemade mozzarella sticks and zucchini patties based on his grandmother’s recipe.

Special dinners: A fixed-price Friday dinner is also planned, featuring a different entree each week such as penne vodka, chicken Parmesan or fried shrimp with pasta. Salad and dessert will be included.

Who’s behind it: John Papandrea is building the concept around recipes from his late father, Dominick, who emigrated from Reggio Calabria, Italy, and spent decades in the pizza business.

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